Method for detecting oil on tobacco products and packaging

ABSTRACT

A process for detecting oil or lubricant contamination in a manufactured product, the process comprising adding at least two fluorescent taggants to oils or lubricants contained in processing machinery for said product, irradiating said product, causing at least one of said taggants to fluoresce and detecting radiation emitted by said fluorescing taggant in an oil-contaminated product.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 14/938,561, filed Nov. 11, 2015, which has issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,782,279 on Sep. 22, 2020, which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/078,290, filed Nov. 11, 2014, the entire contents ofeach of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Disclosed herein is an inspection process for detection of oil and/orgrease (lubricants) contamination on tobacco, tobacco products, food,pharmaceuticals, packaging, and other consumer goods and products.

ENVIRONMENT

In the processing and packaging of consumer products and productsdesigned to provide tobacco enjoyment, oils, greases and other suchlubricants may inadvertently come into contact with the product beingproduced.

In the case of products designed to provide tobacco enjoyment, tobaccoleaf is processed prior to the time that it is provided as finalproduct. For example, leaf may be contacted by machinery duringharvesting, curing and transport to a stemmery. When leaf is provided instrip form at a stemmery, and cut or otherwise shredded to the desiredsize, it is possible for oils, greases and lubricants to inadvertentlycome into contact with the tobacco. Likewise, lubricants used inoperating the various machines used in the processing of the tobacco caninadvertently come into contact with that tobacco. The sources oflubricant contamination can vary, such as when a particular piece ofmachinery or component of that piece of machinery fails to operate in anoptimum fashion. Additionally, lubricants may inadvertently come intocontact with tobacco due to leakage of lubricants through gaskets orseals, from sliding mechanisms, from drum systems, from gear boxes, frompumps, from sealed rolling bearing units, from chains and belts, and thelike. Lubricants are used in conditioning cylinders, threshers,separators, redryers, receivers, feeders, conveyors, cutters, blenders,tobacco presses and other such pieces of equipment that are commonlyused in tobacco stemmeries, and in tobacco primary processingoperations.

Lubricants of similar compositions are used throughout the variousstages of tobacco treatment and cigarette manufacture. Heretofore, ithas been difficult for the cigarette manufacturer to detect the presenceof oil in its tobacco and/or its cigarettes and to locate the source ofa particular lubricant once it has been detected. For example,conventional detection is by visual observation of a spot on a wrappedtobacco rod, followed by removal of the contaminated object andlaboratory analysis, which is a time consuming process.

It would be advantageous if the inspection of machine-processedproducts, such as tobacco and tobacco products, for the presence of alubricant or the like could be facilitated.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, disclosed is a process for detecting oil or lubricantcontamination in a manufactured product, the process comprising addingat least two fluorescent taggants to oils or lubricants contained inprocessing machinery for said product, irradiating said product, causingat least one of said taggants to fluoresce, and detecting radiationemitted by said fluorescing taggant in an oil-contaminated product.

In one form, at least one of said fluorescent taggants fluoresces uponirradiation with ultraviolet radiation.

In one form, the at least one fluorescent taggant emits radiation in thevisible spectrum.

In one form, both of said fluorescent taggants fluoresce uponirradiation with ultraviolet radiation.

In one form, the fluorescent taggants are added to said oils orlubricants at different concentration levels, with at least one taggantbeing added at a sufficient concentration level for its emission to bevisually detectable by an operator of said process.

In one form, at least one fluorescent taggant is added to said oils orlubricants at a concentration of between about 50 ppb and about 100 ppm.

In one form, the process further comprises conveying said product pastan electronic radiation detection apparatus which detects radiationemitted by said fluorescing taggant.

In one form, the fluorescent taggants are Stokes-shifting taggants,which absorb radiation at a first wavelength and fluoresce at a secondwavelength, different from said first wavelength.

In one form, the product is a cigarette rod which is wrapped in paper.

In one form, the product is a food product.

In one form, one or both of the fluorescent taggants is oil soluble.

In one form, one or both of the fluorescent taggants is oil dispersible.

In another aspect, disclosed is a process for detecting oil or lubricantcontamination in a tobacco product, the process comprising adding atleast two fluorescent taggants to oils or lubricants contained inprocessing machinery for said product, irradiating said product, causingat least one of said taggants to fluoresce, and detecting radiationemitted by said fluorescing taggant in an oil-contaminated product.

In one form, at least one of said fluorescent taggants fluoresces uponirradiation with ultraviolet radiation.

In one form, the at least one fluorescent taggant emits radiation in thevisible spectrum.

In one form, both of said fluorescent taggants fluoresce uponirradiation with ultraviolet radiation.

In one form, the fluorescent taggants are added to said oils orlubricants at different concentration levels, with at least one taggantbeing added at a sufficient concentration level for its emission to bevisually detectable by an operator of said process.

In one form, at least one fluorescent taggant is added to said oils orlubricants at a concentration of between about 50 ppb and about 100 ppm.

In one form, the process further comprises conveying said product pastan electronic radiation detection apparatus which detects radiationemitted by said fluorescing taggant.

In one form, the fluorescent taggants are Stokes-shifting taggants,which absorb radiation at a first wavelength and fluoresce at a secondwavelength, different from said first wavelength.

In one form, the product is a cigarette rod which is wrapped in paper.

In one form, the product is a food product.

In one form, one or both of the fluorescent taggants is oil soluble.

In one form, one or both of the fluorescent taggants is oil dispersible.

In yet another aspect, disclosed is a process for identifying the sourceof oil contamination of products produced in a manufacturing processhaving multiple machines in series, each containing one or more oils orlubricants, comprising adding a first fluorescent taggant to all of theoils or lubricants of each machine in the series, adding a secondfluorescent taggant to each oil or lubricant of each machine in theseries, different from said first fluorescent taggant and unique to eachoil or lubricant of each machine in the series, irradiating the productwith a first radiation spectrum and detecting radiation emitted by thefirst fluorescent taggant and removing the radiation emitting productfrom the process.

In one form, the process further comprises irradiating the removedproduct with a second radiation spectrum and detecting radiation emittedby said second fluorescent taggant, so as to identify the source of saidcontamination.

In one form, detection of radiation emitted by said second fluorescenttaggant is conducted with an electronic radiation detection apparatus.

In one form, detection of radiation emitted by the first fluorescenttaggant is conducted visually by an operator of said process.

In one form, the first fluorescent taggant is added to said oils orlubricants at a sufficient concentration level for its emission to bevisually detectable by an operator of said process.

In one form, said fluorescent taggants are Stokes-shifting taggants,which absorb radiation at a first wavelength and fluoresce at a secondwavelength, different from said first wavelength.

In one form, at least said first fluorescent taggant absorbs radiationin the ultraviolet spectrum and emits radiation in the visible spectrum.

In one form, the machines include one for preparing a raw material forshipping.

In one form, the machines include a packaging machine.

In one form, detection of radiation emitted by said first fluorescenttaggant is conducted with an electronic radiation detection apparatusmounted on or within at least one of said multiple machines in saidseries.

In one form, detection of radiation emitted by said first fluorescenttaggant is conducted visually by an operator of the process, anddetection of radiation emitted by said second fluorescent taggant isconducted with an electronic radiation detection apparatus.

In one form, detection of radiation emitted by said first fluorescenttaggant is conducted with an electronic radiation detection apparatusmounted on or within at least one of said multiple machines in saidseries, and detection of radiation emitted by said second fluorescenttaggant is conducted with an electronic radiation detection apparatuslocated separately from said first electronic radiation detectionapparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The forms disclosed herein are illustrated by way of example, and not byway of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and inwhich like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

The FIGURE presents a diagrammatic illustration of one sequence of theprocess of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects will now be described with reference to specific formsselected for purposes of illustration. It will be appreciated that thespirit and scope of the apparatus, system and methods disclosed hereinare not limited to the selected forms.

Each of the following terms written in singular grammatical form: “a,”“an,” and “the,” as used herein, may also refer to, and encompass, aplurality of the stated entity or object, unless otherwise specificallydefined or stated herein, or, unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise. For example, the phrases “a device,” “an assembly,” “amechanism,” “a component,” and “an element,” as used herein, may alsorefer to, and encompass, a plurality of devices, a plurality ofassemblies, a plurality of mechanisms, a plurality of components, and aplurality of elements, respectively.

Each of the following terms: “includes,” “including,” “has,” “having,”“comprises,” and “comprising,” and, their linguistic or grammaticalvariants, derivatives, and/or conjugates, as used herein, means“including, but not limited to.”

Throughout the illustrative description, the examples, and the appendedclaims, a numerical value of a parameter, feature, object, or dimension,may be stated or described in terms of a numerical range format. It isto be fully understood that the stated numerical range format isprovided for illustrating implementation of the forms disclosed herein,and is not to be understood or construed as inflexibly limiting thescope of the forms disclosed herein.

Moreover, for stating or describing a numerical range, the phrase “in arange of between about a first numerical value and about a secondnumerical value,” is considered equivalent to, and means the same as,the phrase “in a range of from about a first numerical value to about asecond numerical value,” and, thus, the two equivalently meaning phrasesmay be used interchangeably.

It is to be understood that the various forms disclosed herein are notlimited in their application to the details of the order or sequence,and number, of steps or procedures, and sub-steps or sub-procedures, ofoperation or implementation of forms of the method or to the details oftype, composition, construction, arrangement, order and number of thesystem, system sub-units, devices, assemblies, sub-assemblies,mechanisms, structures, components, elements, and configurations, and,peripheral equipment, utilities, accessories, and materials of forms ofthe system, set forth in the following illustrative description,accompanying drawings, and examples, unless otherwise specificallystated herein. The apparatus, systems and methods disclosed herein canbe practiced or implemented according to various other alternative formsand in various other alternative ways.

It is also to be understood that all technical and scientific words,terms, and/or phrases, used herein throughout the present disclosurehave either the identical or similar meaning as commonly understood byone of ordinary skill in the art, unless otherwise specifically definedor stated herein. Phraseology, terminology, and, notation, employedherein throughout the present disclosure are for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting.

Disclosed herein is a method of detecting oil and/or grease found ontobacco products and/or packaging through the use of taggants. In thismethod a taggant is added to oil/grease, such as that in a piece ofmanufacturing equipment or involved in a manufacturing process, that maycome into contact with the tobacco product and/or packaging. If thetaggant is then detected, the product is removed as it is contaminated.Additionally, a second taggant can be added to oil as a “discriminatingtaggant”, which is unique for a particular machine or area of theprocess. Once oil is detected using the primary taggant, the oil spotcan be further interrogated by an offline instrument to determine thesource of the “discriminating taggant” and further aid personnel inpinpointing the course of the manufacturing challenge.

In one form, the detection system disclosed herein can be used in manyprocesses and for consumer products which are susceptible to lubricantcontamination during the manufacturing process, such as for example inthe growing, collection, processing and/or packaging of packagedconsumer goods, such as food products, beverages, tipped and non-tippedcigars, cigarillos, snus and other smokeless tobacco products, smokingarticles, electronic cigarettes, distilled products, pharmaceuticals,frozen foods and other comestibles, and the like. Further applicationscould include clothing, furniture, lumber or any other manufactured orpackaged product wherein an absence of oil is desired.

In one embodiment, the process comprises adding at least two fluorescenttaggants to oils or lubricants contained in processing machinery forsaid product, such as a tobacco product, irradiating said product,causing at least one of said taggants to fluoresce, and detectingradiation emitted by said fluorescing taggant in an oil-contaminatedproduct. Advantageously, at least one of said fluorescent taggantsfluoresces upon irradiation with ultraviolet radiation, and emitsradiation in the visible spectrum, so as to be easily detected by anobserver.

In a more preferred embodiment, both of said fluorescent taggantsfluoresce upon irradiation with ultraviolet radiation, at least thefirst of which emits radiation in the visible spectrum. Preferably, thefluorescent taggants are Stokes-shifting taggants, which absorbradiation at a first wavelength and fluoresce at a second wavelength,different from said first wavelength.

According to the process of the present invention, the product can beconveyed past an electronic radiation detection apparatus which detectsradiation emitted by said fluorescing taggant(s). The product can be atobacco product, such as a cigarette rod wrapped in paper, or a foodproduct.

Suitable fluorescent taggants include those which are oil soluble andthose which are oil dispersible. Preferred taggant compounds fluoresceat specific wavelengths from about 390 nm to about 700 nm. Morepreferred taggant compounds fluoresce at specific wavelengths from about425 nm to about 625 nm. For example, after irradiation with UV light, ataggant compound may fluoresce at a wavelength of 465 nm, 510 nm or 530nm. In another embodiment, the taggant compound is a UV sensitivecompound (emits visible light in response to UV radiation). In manyinstances, since the machine-processed product may be subject tohandling or ingestion by consumers, it is advantageous to utilizeorganic taggants, especially those which demonstrate little or notoxicity.

Examples of organic taggant compounds include pyrazolines, oxinates,benzoxazinones, benzimidazoles, benzthiazoles, thioxanthenes,anthranilic acids, terephthalic acids, aldazines, coumarines, barbituricacids, lumiphores, oxazoles, thiazoles, cumene, stilbenes, andderivatives thereof, such as phytochrome, riboflavin, aryl-acetylenes,2,5-diaryl-oxazoles, 1,2,3-oxadiazoles, aryl-substituted2-pyrazolidines, xanthones, thioxanthones and acridones, benzazoles,benzotriazoles, benzoquinolines, fluoresceine derivatives, derivativesof phenothiazine, phenoxazine, quinine derivatives (including quininederivatives having fused aromatic rings), coumarins, indigo derivatives,derivatives of naphthalic anhydride and naphthalimide, perilenes and thelike.

The fluorescent taggants can be added to said oils or lubricants atdifferent concentration levels, with at least one taggant being added ata sufficient concentration level for its emission to be visuallydetectable by an operator of said process. Accordingly, at least onefluorescent taggant is added to said oils or lubricants at aconcentration of between about 50 ppb and 100 about ppm, or betweenabout 10 ppm and 100 about ppm.

However, in order to provide for easier treatment of oils or lubricantsalready in place within various machines, it can be more convenient toformulate a master batch of at least the first taggant in any particularoil, wherein the taggant is mixed at higher concentrations in the baseoil/lubricant, such as from about 0.1 to about 5 wt % taggant, or evenfrom about 0.2 to about 2 wt % taggant, in a balance of the baseoil/lubricant. A portion of such tagged master batch is then easilytransported and added to oils/lubricants which are already in place inthe machines to be treated, for example by adding a small amount of thetagged master batch to the oil sump of the machine. The second,discriminating taggants can be added either directly to the particularmachine oil to be treated, or added to different portions of the taggedmaster batch, and then added to the appropriate machine.

When the taggant is not an oil-soluble taggant, an optional surfactantor dispersant additive can be added in an amount effective to facilitatedispersion of the taggant particles in the base oil. Suchsurfactants/dispersants are well-known in the art and their identitiesneed not be repeated herein.

According to the present invention, a detectable taggant compound isadded to the various lubricants used in manufacturing and processingmachinery, and advantageously taggant compounds having differentcharacteristics are added into the lubricants at different processinglocations, such that detection of one or more of these taggant compoundscan enable rapid identification of the location of the source oflubricant contamination in the manufactured product.

Thus, in another embodiment the invention is directed to a process foridentifying the source of oil contamination of products produced in amanufacturing process having multiple machines in series, eachcontaining one or more oils or lubricants, comprising adding a firstfluorescent taggant to all of the oils or lubricants of each machine inthe series, adding a second fluorescent taggant to each oil or lubricantof each machine in the series, different from said first fluorescenttaggant and unique to each oil or lubricant of each machine in theseries, irradiating the product with a first radiation spectrum anddetecting radiation emitted by the first fluorescent taggant andremoving the radiation emitting product from the process.

The process further comprises irradiating the removed product with asecond radiation spectrum and detecting radiation emitted by said secondfluorescent taggant, so as to identify the source of said contamination.

In one embodiment, detection of radiation emitted by said firstfluorescent taggant is conducted visually by an operator of saidprocess, and optionally detection of the second fluorescent taggant isconducted with an electronic radiation detection apparatus. Accordingly,the first fluorescent taggant is added to said oils or lubricants at asufficient concentration level for its emission to be visuallydetectable by an operator of said process. Similarly to the abovedisclosure, the fluorescent taggants are Stokes-shifting taggants, whichabsorb radiation at a first wavelength and fluoresce at a secondwavelength, different from said first wavelength, especially wherein atleast the first fluorescent taggant absorbs radiation in the ultravioletspectrum and emits radiation in the visible spectrum.

Conversely, in another embodiment detection of radiation emitted by saidfirst fluorescent taggant is conducted with an electronic radiationdetection apparatus mounted on or within at least one of multiplemachines in said series.

Additionally, detection of radiation emitted by said first fluorescenttaggant can be conducted visually by an operator of the process, anddetection of radiation emitted by said second fluorescent taggant can beconducted with an electronic radiation detection apparatus.

Likewise, in another alternative the process can be conducted such thatdetection of radiation emitted by said first fluorescent taggant isconducted with an electronic radiation detection apparatus mounted on orwithin at least one of said multiple machines in said series, anddetection of radiation emitted by said second fluorescent taggant can beconducted with an electronic radiation detection apparatus locatedseparately from said first electronic radiation detection apparatus.

In the accompanying FIGURE, three processing machines, 10, 20 and 30have a first fluorescent compound A added to the oil or lubricant ofeach machine. This first fluorescent compound A can be irradiated withsuch as ultraviolet radiation and fluoresces in the visible spectrum,such that its presence can be visually identified in a visual inspectionstation 40. Upon observation of contamination of the first fluorescentcompound, the contaminated product is removed and sent to identificationstation 50. Each of machines 10, 20 and 30 also have differing secondfluorescent compounds B, C and D added to the oil or lubricant of eachmachine. Each second fluorescent compound can be irradiated with such asultraviolet radiation at the identification station 50, and each willproduce an emission at differing wavelengths, which allows the inspectorto identify from which machine 10, 20 or 30 the contamination hasoriginated. Because under the teachings herein, an inexpensiveultraviolet light fixture or a hand-held ultraviolet light unit may beused as a source and because the common taggant “A” responds in thevisible light spectrum (avoiding the need for expensive detectors), theteachings herein provide an inexpensive, yet effective way to check forthe presence of oil on an on-line basis, with little or no impact onoperations or safety.

The machines suitable for treating with the presently disclosed systemand process include those for preparing a raw material for shipping,such as a packaging machine.

The embodiments disclosed herein, as illustratively described andexemplified hereinabove, have several beneficial and advantageousaspects, characteristics, and features. The embodiments disclosed hereinsuccessfully address and overcome shortcomings and limitations, andwiden the scope, of currently known teachings with respect to thedetection of oil and lubricants on tobacco products or packaging.

As used herein, the term “and/or” placed between a first entity and asecond entity means one of (1) the first entity, (2) the second entity,and (3) the first entity and the second entity. Multiple entities listedwith “and/or” should be construed in the same manner, i.e., “one ormore” of the entities so conjoined. Other entities may optionally bepresent other than the entities specifically identified by the “and/or”clause, whether related or unrelated to those entities specificallyidentified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/orB,” when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as“comprising” may refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionallyincluding entities other than B); in another embodiment, to B only(optionally including entities other than A); in yet another embodiment,to both A and B (optionally including other entities). These entitiesmay refer to elements, actions, structures, steps, operations, values,and the like.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of oneor more entities should be understood to mean at least one entityselected from any one or more of the entity in the list of entities, butnot necessarily including at least one of each and every entityspecifically listed within the list of entities and not excluding anycombinations of entities in the list of entities. This definition alsoallows that entities may optionally be present other than the entitiesspecifically identified within the list of entities to which the phrase“at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those entitiesspecifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least oneof A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or,equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) may refer, in one embodiment,to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no Bpresent (and optionally including entities other than B); in anotherembodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, withno A present (and optionally including entities other than A); in yetanother embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one,A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (andoptionally including other entities). In other words, the phrases “atleast one,” “one or more,” and “and/or” are open-ended expressions thatare both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each ofthe expressions “at least one of A, B and C,” “at least one of A, B, orC,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B,and/or C” may mean A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and Ctogether, B and C together, A, B and C together, and optionally any ofthe above in combination with at least one other entity.

In the event that any patents, patent applications, or other referencesare incorporated by reference herein and define a term in a manner orare otherwise inconsistent with either the non-incorporated portion ofthe present disclosure or with any of the other incorporated references,the non-incorporated portion of the present disclosure shall control,and the term or incorporated disclosure therein shall only control withrespect to the reference in which the term is defined and/or theincorporated disclosure was originally present.

As used herein the terms “adapted” and “configured” mean that theelement, component, or other subject matter is designed and/or intendedto perform a given function. Thus, the use of the terms “adapted” and“configured” should not be construed to mean that a given element,component, or other subject matter is simply “capable of” performing agiven function but that the element, component, and/or other subjectmatter is specifically selected, created, implemented, utilized,programmed, and/or designed for the purpose of performing the function.It is also within the scope of the present disclosure that elements,components, and/or other recited subject matter that is recited as beingadapted to perform a particular function may additionally oralternatively be described as being configured to perform that function,and vice versa.

Illustrative, non-exclusive examples of apparatus and methods accordingto the present disclosure are presented in the following enumeratedparagraphs. It is within the scope of the present disclosure that anindividual step of a method recited herein, including in the followingenumerated paragraphs, may additionally or alternatively be referred toas a “step for” performing the recited action.

PCT1. A process for detecting oil or lubricant contamination in amanufactured product, the process comprising: adding at least twofluorescent taggants to oils or lubricants contained in processingmachinery for said product; irradiating said product, causing at leastone of said taggants to fluoresce; and detecting radiation emitted bysaid fluorescing taggant in an oil-contaminated product.

PCT2. The process of paragraph PCT1, wherein at least one of saidfluorescent taggants fluoresces upon irradiation with ultravioletradiation.

PCT3. The process of paragraph PCT2, wherein said at least onefluorescent taggant emits radiation in the visible spectrum.

PCT4. The process of any preceding paragraph, wherein both of saidfluorescent taggants fluoresce upon irradiation with ultravioletradiation.

PCT5. The process of any preceding paragraph, wherein the fluorescenttaggants are added to said oils or lubricants at different concentrationlevels, with at least one taggant being added at a sufficientconcentration level for its emission to be visually detectable by anoperator of said process.

PCT6. The process of any preceding paragraph, wherein at least onefluorescent taggant is added to said oils or lubricants at aconcentration of between about 50 ppb and about 100 ppm.

PCT7. The process of any preceding paragraph, further comprisingconveying said product past an electronic radiation detection apparatuswhich detects radiation emitted by said fluorescing taggant.

PCT8. The process of any preceding paragraph, wherein said fluorescenttaggants are Stokes-shifting taggants, which absorb radiation at a firstwavelength and fluoresce at a second wavelength, different from saidfirst wavelength.

PCT9. The process of any preceding paragraph, wherein said product is acigarette rod which is wrapped in paper.

PCT10. The process of any preceding paragraph, wherein said product is afood product.

PCT11. The process of any preceding paragraph, wherein one or both ofthe fluorescent taggants is oil soluble.

PCT12. The process of any preceding paragraph, wherein one or both ofthe fluorescent taggants is oil dispersible.

PCT13. A process for detecting oil or lubricant contamination in atobacco product, the process comprising: adding at least two fluorescenttaggants to oils or lubricants contained in processing machinery forsaid product; irradiating said product, causing at least one of saidtaggants to fluoresce; and detecting radiation emitted by saidfluorescing taggant in an oil-contaminated product.

PCT14. A process for identifying the source of oil contamination ofproducts produced in a manufacturing process having multiple machines inseries, each containing one or more oils or lubricants, comprising:adding a first fluorescent taggant to all of the oils or lubricants ofeach machine in the series; adding a second fluorescent taggant to eachoil or lubricant of each machine in the series, different from saidfirst fluorescent taggant and unique to each oil or lubricant of eachmachine in the series; irradiating the product with a first radiationspectrum and detecting radiation emitted by the first fluorescenttaggant; and removing the radiation emitting product from the process.

PCT15. The process of paragraph PCT14, further comprising irradiatingthe removed product with a second radiation spectrum and detectingradiation emitted by said second fluorescent taggant, so as to identifythe source of said contamination.

PCT16. The process of paragraph PCT15, wherein detection of radiationemitted by said second fluorescent taggant is conducted with anelectronic radiation detection apparatus.

PCT17. The process of any of paragraphs PCT14-PCT16, wherein detectionof radiation emitted by the first fluorescent taggant is conductedvisually by an operator of said process.

PCT18. The process of any of paragraphs PCT14-PCT17, wherein the firstfluorescent taggant is added to said oils or lubricants at a sufficientconcentration level for its emission to be visually detectable by anoperator of said process.

PCT19. The process of any of paragraphs PCT14-PCT18, wherein saidfluorescent taggants are Stokes-shifting taggants, which absorbradiation at a first wavelength and fluoresce at a second wavelength,different from said first wavelength.

PCT20. The process of paragraph PCT19, wherein at least said firstfluorescent taggant absorbs radiation in the ultraviolet spectrum andemits radiation in the visible spectrum.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The apparatus and methods disclosed herein are applicable to theconsumer products industry.

It is believed that the disclosure set forth above encompasses multipledistinct inventions with independent utility. While each of theseinventions has been disclosed in its preferred form, the specificembodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to beconsidered in a limiting sense as numerous variations are possible. Thesubject matter of the inventions includes all novel and non-obviouscombinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features,functions and/or properties disclosed herein. Similarly, where theclaims recite “a” or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof, suchclaims should be understood to include incorporation of one or more suchelements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more such elements.

While the present invention has been described and illustrated byreference to particular forms, those of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the invention lends itself to variations not necessarilyillustrated herein. For this reason, then, reference should be madesolely to the appended claims for purposes of determining the true scopeof the present invention.

We claim:
 1. A process for identifying lubricant contamination in amanufactured product, the process comprising: adding a first fluorescenttaggant to a first lubricant of a first processing machine and a secondlubricant of a second processing machine; adding a second fluorescenttaggant to the first lubricant of the first processing machine only;adding a third fluorescent taggant to the second lubricant of the secondprocessing machine only; preparing a manufactured product using thefirst processing machine and the second processing machine; irradiatingthe manufactured product; and identifying lubricant contamination in themanufactured product by detecting radiation emitted by the firstfluorescent taggant, the second fluorescent taggant, the thirdfluorescent taggant, or any combination thereof in the manufacturedproduct, the radiation corresponding to lubricant contamination.
 2. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein the irradiating includes irradiating themanufactured product with a first radiation spectrum configured to causeonly the first fluorescent taggant to fluoresce.
 3. The process of claim2, wherein the detecting comprises: visually detecting radiation emittedby the fluorescing first fluorescent taggant if present.
 4. The processof claim 2, wherein the irradiating comprises: irradiating themanufactured product with a second radiation spectrum configured tocause only the second fluorescent taggant to fluoresce.
 5. The processof claim 4, wherein the detecting comprises: electronically detectingradiation emitted by the fluorescing second fluorescent taggant ifpresent.
 6. The process of claim 4, wherein the irradiating comprises:irradiating the manufactured product with a third radiation spectrumconfigured to cause only the third fluorescent taggant to fluoresce. 7.The process of claim 6, wherein the detecting comprises: electronicallydetecting radiation emitted by the fluorescing third fluorescent taggantif present.
 8. The process of claim 1, wherein the first fluorescenttaggant is different from the second fluorescent taggant and the thirdfluorescent taggant.
 9. The process of claim 8, wherein the secondfluorescent taggant is different from the third fluorescent taggant. 10.The process of claim 1, wherein the first fluorescent taggant, thesecond fluorescent taggant, and the third fluorescent taggant fluoresceupon irradiation with ultraviolet radiation.
 11. The process of claim 1,wherein the first fluorescent taggant, the second fluorescent taggant,and the third fluorescent taggant emit radiation in a visible spectrum.12. The process of claim 1, wherein the first fluorescent taggant andthe second fluorescent taggant are each added to the first lubricant ofthe respective first processing machine at a concentration ranging from50 ppb to 100 ppm.
 13. The process of claim 1, wherein the firstfluorescent taggant is added to the first lubricant of the firstprocessing machine at a concentration ranging from 50 ppb to 100 ppm.14. The process of claim 1, wherein the third fluorescent taggant isadded to the second lubricant of the second processing machine at aconcentration ranging from 50 ppb to 100 ppm.
 15. The process of claim1, wherein the first fluorescent taggant, the second fluorescenttaggant, and the third fluorescent taggant are Stokes-shifting taggants.16. The process of claim 1, wherein the first fluorescent taggant, thesecond fluorescent taggant, and the third fluorescent taggant are oilsoluble.
 17. The process of claim 1, wherein the first fluorescenttaggant, the second fluorescent taggant, and the third fluorescenttaggant are oil dispersible.
 18. The process of claim 1, wherein thefirst fluorescent taggant is added to the first lubricant of the firstprocessing machine and the second lubricant of the second processingmachine at a concentration ranging from 50 ppb to 100 ppm, the secondfluorescent taggant is added to the first lubricant of the firstprocessing machine at a concentration of less than 50 ppb, and the thirdfluorescent taggant is added to the second lubricant of the secondprocessing machine at a concentration of less than 50 ppb.